Heal Your Voice
January 31, 2025
There’s nothing worse than wanting to sing and not being able to, due to a sore throat. This lesson will cover 4 effective strategies for rest and recovery, so you don’t miss out on any singing time due to overuse.
1. Utilize complete vocal rest
That means no singing or talking, as much as you can adhere to that. Vocal rest is crucial when you’re hoarse or sick with a sore throat. But vocal rest should also be part of your regular routine, in the form of planned vocal breaks throughout the day. Especially if you talk a lot for your job, you’ll want to be especially mindful of your voice use during your time off.
2. SOVT exercises for gentle vocalization
SOVT stands for semi occluded vocal tract, and this type of exercise is the gold standard for gentle but efficient vocalization. SOVTs can actually help reduce swelling of the vocal folds, making them the perfect choice for a warmup or cooldown. I use an SOVT, usually the lip trill, as my first warmup of the day. For a cooldown, I like an NG or a hum. And I’ll often use the puffer fish or straw phonation mid-practice or mid-recording session, especially if I’m feeling stuck or tense and want to reset my voice.
3. Vocal cooldown
You’ve probably done a vocal warmup - but have you tried a cooldown? A vocal cooldown helps your voice and all the muscles involved to relax and decompress. Whereas a warmup is usually designed to stretch your range and gradually build intensity, a cooldown does the opposite, bringing you back into your natural speaking range and reducing the intensity. For example, you might do more top-down patterns and modulate down by half-steps instead of getting progressively higher.
While you might not need a cooldown after every practice session or performance, I highly recommend incorporating one if you’ve been singing for a long time or with a lot of intensity.
4. Gentle massage
Despite our best efforts to reduce unnecessary tension, we sometimes do still accumulate tension while singing. Similar to a warmup and cooldown, gentle massage can be part of your pre and post singing routine. Focus on areas that you tend to hold tension, whether that’s your neck, shoulders, or jaw. Follow along with me, and use this time to also practice slow, low breathing.
